Product Description

Pitt Minion Bibles are known for their synthesis of function and style—of readable text, in compact form.A combination of skilled design and the use of a remarkably compact typeface lead to acclaim for the Pitt Minion format in achieving the difficult feat of being both easy to carry and easy to read. The first Pitt Minions were only available in the King James Version but in recent years Cambridge has developed the original concept by creating new Pitt Minion Bibles in a range of modern translations. These are produced using a special digital font which has similar characteristics of compactness and readability to the original typeface.Now, the KJV Pitt Minion Edition has been freshly typeset using this modern font and current layout, which presents the text in paragraph format. The Bible text is supported by a Reader's Companion (a cross between a concordance and a dictionary) and 15 newly designed color maps. Even with these additions, the Bibles are still only one inch in thickness. Goatskin is a beautiful and very resilient top-quality, natural grain leather. It is strong yet supple and is used in the finest bindings. Cambridge uses Nigerian goatskins finished in the United Kingdom for their top-of-the range bindings.Features

Paragraph format

Words of Jesus in red

Two-column layout

Center-column cross references

"Reader's Companion", combining features of a concordance and dictionary

Publisher's Description

A combination of skilled design and the use of a remarkably compact typeface lead to acclaim for the Pitt Minion format in achieving the difficult feat of being both easy to carry and easy to read. The first Pitt Minions were only available in the King James Version but in recent years Cambridge has developed the original concept by creating new Pitt Minion Bibles in a range of modern translations. These are produced using a special digital font which has similar characteristics of compactness and readability to the original typeface.

Now, the KJV Pitt Minion Edition has been freshly typeset using this modern font and current layout, which presents the text in paragraph format. The Bible text is supported by a Reader's Companion (a cross between a concordance and a dictionary) and 15 newly designed color maps. Even with these additions, the Bibles are still only ¾ inch in thickness. There are four available styles--giving choices of red-letter or black-letter, brown or black covers, and a range of binding materials--in two-grain imitation leather, calf split leather, or top-quality goatskin leather.

Just received my KJV Pitt in black goatskin. Out of the box, i noticed the goatskin on the KJV is different than the NKJV Pitt. The NKJV is softer and the KJV is smoother. This being my third Pitt, i can only say it is one of the best overall small Bibles on the market. The Readers Companion is awesome and full of information for studying and searching. My copy had some pretty nasty creasing issues throughout the text. I could easily get an exchange, but have decided not to as it adds to the Bibles character! As i have previously stated, the Pitt is an amazing Bible as well as one of my favorite everyday carry Bibles!

The classic KJV Pitt Minion has now been updated to match the current line of Cambridge Pitt Minions. This is a new edition of the KJV Pitt Minion with many updates including the layout, font, and the addition of the Reader's Companion.

Cover and Binding

The edition I'm reviewing is black goatskin. It has a sewn binding, so it lays flat. The goatskin has a soft and elegant feel to the grain. Unlike the goatskin Cambridge Cameo, which is edge-stitched and leather-lined, the liner is synthetic and glued to the cover. This makes the cover not as flexible as the Cameo, making it easier to hold open in one hand. A Bible this size doesn't need to be floppy (in my opinion). This is part of the price difference between the two Bibles.

Font

The font is larger than the original at 6.75 Lexicon No. 1 with 7-point leading. It is on the small side, but the sharpness and boldness helps make it readable. It has around a medium boldness and is very consistent throughout the Bible. The words of Christ while on Earth are in red-letter. The red-letter is about a medium shade of red and is equally consistent. I usually don't like small text, but given the print and paper quality, I didn't have any problem reading this text.

Layout

The layout for the new KJV Pitt Minion is beautiful. This edition is in paragraph format with poetry set in verse format. Searching for verses is a little more difficult because the verse numbers are not in bold. This makes the Pitt Minion a great reading Bible. I suspect we'll see more KJV's in this format.

Cambridge continues the layout/printing method they started with the Clarion with printing each line of text over the same area on both sides of the page. This adds to the readability because the white space between the text is cleaner, making the space between the lines seem larger. It looks better in the Pitt Minion because of the greater opacity of the paper.

Thumbing through to find specific chapters is easier since the top outside corners of each page has the range of chapters that appear on that page. I've used many Bibles that only give you the chapter that starts on that page. This cause's unnecessary page turning because I was already on the page I needed, I just didn't know it since the top of the page only showed the chapter that started on that page. I like the way this is solved in the Pitt Minion. At I wish this were standard in Bibles.

References

The references are from Zondervan. They are center-column and keyed to the text with letters for references and numbers for translation notes. There are verse numbers in bold in the center-column with all the references for that verse. References for verses in the left column appear at the top of the center-column, and references for the verses in the right column appear at the bottom of the center-column.

Paper

The Pitt Minion uses India paper. It is ultrathin and lightweight, and is much more opaque than the Clarion. Since the paper is so thin it does have some slight curling on the edges, but it is very slight. Edges in the goatskin edition are art-gilt, which gives the edges a red tone when the Bible is open. I love the elegance that art-gilt gives.

Reader's Companion

Rather than having a concordance, the Pitt Minion now has the Reader's Companion, which first appeared in the Cambridge KJV Clarion. It's a combination of a concordance and a dictionary. I'm very glad that Cambridge is placing the Reader's Companion in more KJV editions. Where it differs from a concordance is it only gives the reference and not a portion of the text. What it gives instead is a Bible dictionary entry. It includes introductions to the books of the Bible, short biographies of Biblical characters, and much more. I'll take the Reader's Companion over a concordance any day. I hope it becomes standard for all Cambridge KJV editions.

Maps

There are 15, newly updated, full color maps. There is also an 8-page index to maps that's color-coded for Settlements, Political, Physical Land, Physical Water, Travel, and Jerusalem.

Conclusion

The 2nd edition of Cambridge's KJV Pitt Minion is a beautiful edition of the King James text. It has many features that I'd like to see in all KJV's. The text, even though it is small, is sharp and easy to read. The paper is thin and still opaque. The Reader's Companion, being a combination between a concordance and a dictionary, is much more useful than just a concordance. The goatskin is soft and the sewn binding adds to the durability. The Cambridge 2nd edition KJV Pitt Minion is an excellent Bible to read and carry. Highly recommended.

Baker Publishing provided this Bible free for review. I was not required to give a positive review- only an honest review. My opinion is my own.